Anwar Ali Jr

Anwar Ali Biography

Anwar Ali is a Indian Footballer born on 24th September, 1984 in Rurka Kalan, Punjab. He is a defender who plays as Centre-Back and Right-Back at times. He currently plays for ATK in the Indian Super League.

Background

Anwar started his career at Rurka Kalan Academy located in his village. He began playing as a Right-Back and impressed everyone with his performances. He was then selected for the 2002 Sub-Junior Nationals where he impressed the National team scouts.

In 2004 Anwar was selected to represent Punjab in the Santosh Trophy where Punjab ended up being the Runners up. After this tournament Anwar Ali joined Punjab Police team.

In 2005, Anwar joined JCT FC where he started playing as a central defender due to his height and strong physique.

During the 2006-07 season, Anwar Ali displayed a scintillating performance which earned him the award of being the promising player of the Durand Cup. In the I-League , Anwar’s performance helped JCT FC finish Runners up.

His continuous good performances earned him a place in the Indian National team squad.

Debut

Anwar Ali made his debut for the Indian National team during the 2008 SAFF Cup Tournament against Nepal. He was solid in defence and India won the match by 4-0.

He continued to perform decently as India went on to reach the finals of the tournament. In the finals India lost 1-0 to Maldives.

Rise to Glory

He became a regular starter for the team in the AFC Champions League. He along with Gouramangi Singh played a great part in letting opposition score just 3 goals in 5 matches. India went on to win the tournament beating Tajikistan 4-1.

Anwar was then selected for the 2009 Nehru Cup where India played some exceptional Football making them Champions of the tournament. He also played some International friendlies in 2010. Anwar was named in the squad of the 2011 Asian Cup.

Low Points

His poor domestic performance cost him a place in the National team. Even though he was a great player he could not cement his place in the team. He last played for Indian team in 2012.

Club Career

Anwar started his professional career with JCT FC in 2005-06 season. He played for the team for 4 seasons before joining Dempo for the 2009-10 season. He played 18 matches for the team and could not fit in the properly which made him to move to Mohun Bagan in 2010.

Anwar played for the Mohun Bagan for 3 seasons before moving to United Sikkim team. Anwar played for Delhi Dynamos team during the 2014-15 season. He then joined back Mohun Bagan on season long loan.

In 2016 ISL, Anwar represented Mumbai City FC and moved to East Bengal in 2017. He now plays for ATK in ISL.